Same old film?

Woke up this morning to at least a glimmer of hope from across the water. We shall see.

The main action in these parts this week has revolved around the new Bavarian Parliament being formed and the new Government together with the new old President of Bavaria being voted into office. A few chairs swapped around as the previous ruling Conservative (CSU) has to give up a few posts to the slightly further right and more rural independent Free Voters (FW). The FW was a splinter party from the CSU about 20 years ago and made a good impression in rural local politics.

So it's more or less sisters getting back together again and promising they will take the local interests of the folk more seriously rather than get mixed up in Berlin politics. Hopefully, the very successful Green Party as runners-up in the elections will be able to do a good job as the opposition.

One needs to understand the German mentality in such matters. They were around 75% happy with the previous CSU government but wanted their anxieties heard. The Germans don't like the risk of radical change. I will always remember when earlier this year Mrs Merkel had to give up some seats in the new coalition. one of which was the all-important Minister of Finance which had been her parties stalwart "austerity" champion Wolfgang Schäuble, the one confined to a wheelchair after an assassination attempt in 1990, and hated by all the countries (Greece etc) that didn't like being told they weren't going to get any more money until they sorted themselves out.  In his place came the Socialist and politically opposite Olaf Scholz and he was asked in an interview if this now meant the end to austerity (and the Greeks being allowed to drink Ouzo again at EU cost). His answer: "different parties come to power at different times with different policies but ALWAYS the German Minister Of Finance is the German Minister of Finance". 

The workings of Parliament revolve around the Bavarian Constitution, the first working version of which was written exactly 200 years ago in 1818. The current (+ amendments) 1946 version was written with the help of the American Occupying Forces and is held in high regard. Just as the Americans honour theirs. Luckily and at the time understandably, they didn't put anything in the Bavarian version allowing everyone to bear arms!. But the Constitution does allow me to bear an armful of berries from the forest:
Art. 141 (3)
1) The enjoyment of natural beauty and recreation in the outdoors, in particular the access to forests and mountain meadows, the use of waterways and lakes and the appropriation of wild fruit to the extent customary in the respective region shall be permitted to every person.
2) In this respect, every person shall be obliged to treat nature and the landscape with care.
3) The state and the municipalities shall be entitled and obliged to maintain free access to mountains, lakes, rivers and other beautiful sceneries and to create free access by restricting property rights and to create hiking trails and recreational parks, if need be.

This and all the other matters dealing with rights and obligations can be read on the Bavarian State website in German, English, French and Spanish. I was, of course, handed a written copy at the "ceremony" when I got German citizenship earlier this year. All schoolchildren must be given a copy.

Of course, the alleged "founders of modern democracy" don't need a written constitution. No doubt the Magna Carta stipulates who is responsible for ensuring electricity supplies and guarantees the freedom of the press and requires them to accurately and truthfully represent events. It probably allows the Barons and Dukes to behead any peasant who even puts a toe on their forest ground. Any disputes about picking blackberries on Sandringham Estate can be sorted out by the army of lawyers and barristers - they have a right to live in luxury too.

But the biggest highlight this week is tomorrow's 100th Bavarian birthday. On the afternoon of the 7th November 1918 a relatively small group led by the Berlin-born journalist, theatre critic, socialist, pacifist and Jew Kurt Eisner, met on the Oktoberfest site in Munich to show their anger at the ruling monarchy who had forced the horror of WWI on them. Within hours the Monarchy had abdicated and in a bloodless coup, the following morning the Freistaat Bayern was born.

My boring Blip reflects my personal "Verfassung" - constitution today. Although mentioned in Art. 99 "The Constitution shall serve the protection and the mental and physical wellbeing of all residents." I couldn't find the State Website Link button to whoever was responsible for pouring me a double Gin & Tonic. No sign of any prospect of improvement either! Think I will be forced to toast Bavaria with a beer tomorrow rather than a Beefeater's London Dry Gin & Schweppes Tonic.

The Geotag is on the Maximilianeum in Munich, the seat of the Bavarian Parliament since 1949.